Batemans Bay crews world's best after striking gold in Adelaide

By
DEAN BENSON

BATEMANS Bay’s newest sporting world champions returned home on Monday rather tired but still feeling “pretty over the moon” after an incredible medal haul at the surf life saving world titles in Adelaide over the weekend.

BATEMANS Bay’s newest sporting world champions returned home on Monday rather tired but still feeling “pretty over the moon” after an incredible medal haul at the surf life saving world titles in Adelaide over the weekend.

The Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club (BBSLSC) arrived back in the Eurobodalla with gold medals in the open men’s A grade and 160 masters women’s division, as well as a bronze in the men’s under 23s.

Broulee’s men’s under 19s crew wasn’t to be outdone either and came home with a silver medal.

“We’re pretty over the moon, especially after training so hard for more than three months,” BBSLSC open men’s A grade crew member Brendan Ellis said.

“It’s nice to know that it’s all paid off.

“We were pretty confident because we’d been unbeaten all day. We don’t really get nervous, we were just pumped up.”

The Bay’s open men’s crew showed an unrivalled fighting spirit on Saturday in flat conditions to power home in the final ahead of Bulli and pre-race favourite North Cottesloe (Perth).

Meanwhile on Thursday, the Bay’s 160 masters women’s crew got the world championship assault off to the perfect start when they “rowed a really good final” to claim back-to-back gold medals.

And just to round it all off, Friday produced another medal for the Bay club, this time coloured bronze after the under-23 men’s crew finished third

in its final behind Victorian crew Rosebud and New Zealand club Piha.

“In the women’s final, there were a couple of crews who were probably quicker than us but we worked a bit harder and it went really well for us,” club spokesman and sweep for the three crews, Neil Innes, said.

“Then in the under 23s final, our boys actually led for most of the final but the other two crews got on a wave heading into the beach and slipped past us.

“The open men’s rowed brilliantly on the day and they were by far the best crew. I don’t think they lost a race throughout the whole event.

“But the whole experience was just great and it was a really good bonding session.”

Asked how the club’s results stacked up against pre-championship expectations, Innes said: “I thought we’d be there or thereabouts. To be honest, I didn’t think we’d go quite as well because the conditions were so flat and that generally suits the clubs with a still-water background.”

There will be no rest for the rowers, though, as they head to Mollymook this weekend to begin their Australian Surf Rowers League campaign.